Both breached the cap in their premiership years, but thats another story for another day, Warriors also went over by 800k one year but because they had a less than successful year so no one cares. Its not the act people hated, it was the result of it.
It was the actual
size of the breach; and the
duration (five odd years) of the breach; and the coldly calculated manner in which the breach was carried out (two different contracts for some players, two different sets of books, etc) - that really earnt the ire of League fans.
And it`s not so much the 'stars' that Melbourne was able to hang onto that made all the difference. It was the lower-teir players and the depth of talent that kept the Storm ultra-competitive, and still does. Despite having to let Greg Inglis and Adam Blair go, you were still able to keep players like Whiddop and Neilson and other up and coming players that might otherwise have been forced to leave the club because of salary cap restrictions. (And, of course, you hung on to a great 'spine' in Slater, Smith and Cronk.) Don`t kid yourself that it`s all about your top three players. And don`t kid yourself that the effects of the cap cheating aren`t still in evidence. And if you had half a brain, you wouldn`t expect that you could come onto a rival club`s forum, talk about this stuff, and not be met with hostility. Grow up. If you want to talk to us about football (because, let`s face it, the Parrammatta Eels Forum is the strongest one on the internet), then have the sense and the common decency to discuss other topics. Or else, you know, you can always f**k off.
